Friday 22 June 2012 05.58 EDT
First published on Friday 22 June 2012 05.58 EDT

Glen Johnson has claimed England deserve more respect for their European Championship exploits after topping their group and setting up a quarter-final against Italy on Sunday.

England have flourished despite going into the tournament having trained only a handful of times under the new manager Roy Hodgson. Asked if they warranted more respect from their critics, the Liverpool full-back Johnson said: "Yeah, I guess so.

"But, inside the camp, no one thinks like that. It's only people outside the camp. So it's not really important."

Johnson has had more than his fair share of doubters at both club and international level. Yet, despite the right-back berth having been arguably the most fiercely contested position in the team for the past two years, he has made it his own at this tournament.

The 27-year-old said it was down to others to judge whether he was now the undisputed first choice. But he added: "I played all the games in the World Cup, I played the majority of the games from then to now. I've played all the games here, so I'd have to be in contention, wouldn't I?

"Every player wants to have a run in any side they play in. No one wants to come in for one game then not play for a few months and come in for another. If you're going to play, you want to play almost every possible opportunity."

Johnson is one of two Liverpool players certain to start against Italy, the other being the captain Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard has shone at Euro 2012 and Johnson claimed the added responsibility of being appointed full-time captain for the first time had brought the best out of his team-mate.

"Steven has been a fantastic player for many, many years," Johnson said. "But, with the armband, I think he feels he needs to step up just that tiny bit more, and I think he's done it more than anyone so far."

England will run out in Kiev on Sunday aiming to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time in 16 years. Johnson sensed supporters in Poland and Ukraine, as well as back at home, were getting behind the team, with TV coverage of Tuesday's final group match against Ukraine attracting a reported peak audience of 18.5m.

Asked if a new bond was developing with the fans, Johnson said: "I'd agree with that. I've just been told about the record rating of viewers for the game. The fans are there to support and it feels like we're a big, tight unit."

Johnson believes the tournament is wide open now that it has reached the knockout stages.

"Any team in the tournament has got a chance of winning it," he added. "The first objective was to get out of the group. We did that very well by winning the group, so now it's a one-off game and, in a one-off game, you can beat anyone."

Johnson, who has been touted to take one of the first five penalties should he be required, added: "If the opportunity arose, you'd step up. Everyone might have to. But, no, we haven't spoken about it. Obviously, you can't control things like that. It might happen, it might not."